You-attitude Principles and Techniques

The
“you-attitude,” a writing style and a philosophy, places the reader’s interests
foremost in your writing.It is based
on the principle that the readers are more concerned about their own needs than
they are about yours.Rely on the
following you-attitude principles:

·Look
at situations from the reader’s perspective

·Emphasize
what the reader wants to know

·Respect
the reader’s intelligence

·Protect
the reader’s ego

Example:We must receive your receipt with the
merchandise before we can process
your refund.

Please enclose the sales receipt with the merchandise, so that we can
process your refund promptly.

So you can receive your refund promptly, please enclose the receipt
with the merchandise.

You attitude principles involve more than using you and your; it means seeing from the reader’s viewpoint and seeing reader
benefits, and writing accordingly.

To apply the you-attitude, use the following
techniques:

1.Write
with a specific purpose in mind, but focus not on what you will gain but on
what the reader receives, wants, or can do.Not "We are shipping your order . . . " but "The pair of
shoes you ordered . . ."

2.Refer
to the reader’s request or order specifically.Not "your order" but the "desk chair you ordered."

3.Anticipate,
but don’t presume to know how a reader will react or feel.Not "You'll be happy to know . . .
" but just make the direct statement.

4.When
writing to a person, highlight them (“you”) rather than the “I” or “we.”In other words, choose the second-person
point of view over first or third.

5.Conversely,
in negative situations, avoid the word “you.”Protect the reader’s ego by using more impersonal expressions and
passive verbs to avoid assigning blame. You made no allowance for inflation in
your estimate. No estimate for inflation has been made in this estimate (passive).
This estimate makes no allowance for inflation (impersonal).

6.Emphasize
the positive by replacing words that contain negative connotations or
denotations."Not we have failed
to take inventory" but "We haven't yet finished taking
inventory."

7.Make
information accessible: organize and format more, according to established
conventions; include clear topic sentences in all paragraphs; and for long
documents, use headings to separate sections.